Spring-support and shock-absorber for vehicle-bodies.



M.1.HELMEH. A SPRING SUPPORT AND SHOCK ABSORBER FOR VEHICLE BODIES.

APPLICATIN FILED OCT. 20. 19l5.

Patented Feb, 20, 191'?.

-2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WIIKIJIIIAWIIIIII M. J. HELMER. v SPRING SUPPQRI AND-SHOCK ABsoIIBER Fon VEHICLE BODIES.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. 2o| me. .v

20, 1917. 2 SHEETS-sneer 2.'

Patented Feb cumul l e, ee NN IIIIIIII QN. N. @NI

ein sfr-Arne rafranr MILTON J. HELMER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR F ONE-HALF TO SAM-L. STONE,

0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. I Y

Specification of 4Letters latent. .Patented Feb, 209 i917,

Appiicatyion filed october 2o, 1916. serial No. mehr?.

To ZZ Mw'm t may concern.' Be it known that I. MILTON J; HELMER,

l a citizen of thev United States. residing at Chicago` in' the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring-Supports and Shock Absorber-s for Vehicle Bodies, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in combined spriuU-supports and shockabsorbers for vehicle odies.

Some of the objects of my invention are cushion the momentum eHect and produce smooth, comfortable riding.

Another object of my invention is to provide a practical; cheap to construct; stanch and reliable spring structure which can be easily and quickly applied by a novice, and which is not liable to derangement.

Other and further objects of my invention willybecome readily apparent, to persons skilled in the art, from a consideration of the following description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein Figure 1 is an elevation of parts of a vehicle, or. wagon showing my spring structure applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation showing parts in section, of the spring structure.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the spring structure.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse section taken on line '4-4 of Fig. 1f.A

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section taken on line 5 5 Of 1'. l/

In all the views the same reference characters are employed to indicate similar parts.

is a conventional representation of a body part of a vehicle, such as an automobile, wagon, or the like, and lllis the 'fixed axle thereof, upon which the wheels 2 rotate. My spring structure is arrange between the body 10, 'and anyrpart of the-running gear such as the axle 11, and /consists'of ward each other.

cam levers 13 and 14 pivoted to a. shackle 15, as at 16 and 17, respectively. The cam levers are shown secured to the fixed axle 11, but-they could as well be secured to any other part of the running gear, for the purn pose desired. The cam members or levers 13 and 14 are yieldingly held apart by in termediate compression springs 13 and 13,

the terminal ends of the springs being insex-ted in perforations made in the respective levers. These .springs are relatively strong and yield only when considerable force is applied tending to press the cam levers to- The cam levers are provided with V-shaped cams each 'having a valley portionQO and outwardly extending portions 21 above the valley and a similar' outwardly-extending portion 22 below the valley.

A-cylinder or pipe 23 is axially slottehdw as at 24, and 25, to permit the cam levers 13 and 14' to Apass through the cylinder 23 and to serve as guides for the cam,members. The cylinder 23 is held to the body of 'the vehicle 10 by means of brackets 26 and 27. In-v closed in each .end of the cylinder 23 is a compression spring 28, which enters a piston or movable abutment 29, at the inner' end.v Each abutment carries a roller 30, which engages a curved surface. 31 of the cam member, and which is adapted-to follow -along on the cam surface of the lever when there is any relative vertical displacement between'the cam mechanism and the cylinder 23. An axially positioned guide rod 32 may be fixed to the piston 29 and pass through the head 33 of the cylinder 23. This rod may, or may not be used, as'desired.

The operation of the device is as -foli lows :*The load imposed upon the spring structure, by the Weight carried bythe body ofthe vehicletends to vertically displace the cylinder 23 carrying the springs 28, the

. effect of which will cause the wheels 30 to ride upon the cam surface 22 of the cam levers, which causes compression of the springs 28, produced by the axial movement of the piston 29, due to the downward move- Any incipient or slight vibration is taken up by the springs 28'-28 of the cylinder 23,

ment of the rollers 30 upon the cam surfaces.

respect to the cams, will cause the rollers 30 to move down on the cam surfaces 22 of the respective cam levers,4 until the power of the springs 18 and 19. are substantially balanced by the springs l28--28 whereupon yielding rebound and preventing undesirable and undue relative movements ofthe running ear, and the body part of the vehicle away rom each other. When the vehicle is moving over a normal road the rollers 30-30 rest, substantially, in the valleys 20-20' of the cam members, as shown in Fig. 2, and will return to approximately such positions after theoccurrence of violent disturbance of the vehicle body and running gear, due to pronounced inequalities of the'roadway. The

rollers will be moved upwardly, upon the' outwardly diverging legs of the cams as the result of the momentum produced by the abnormal motion of suoli parts of the vehicle, thereby: yieldingly resisting this motion of the parts and absorbing the shocks that otherwise would beproduced, by yieldingly opposing a tendency to excessive bounding of the vehicle body, by the relative displacement of the vehicle parts.

While the drawings show a plurality of cani members and a plurality of horizontally disposed cylinders including springs, as a preferred form'of my invention, it is evident that a single spring and a single rigid cam ymember may be employed with greater or less e'dect.

While I have herein shown a single embodiment of my invention, for the purpose gear of vehicle, of two pivoted el L inclined and a downwardly inclined p of Clear disclosure, itis manifest that many changes may be madeV in the general forni, e conguration and disposition of the parte within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

l. In a device of the character described the combination with a/ body and running gear of a vehicle, oftw/o laterally movable, opposed cam levers, carried. by one member thereof; springs holding them normally separated, and opposed springs carried by the other member, havingparts bearing on the cam levers in the Y respective valleys thereof. ,f ,y v

Q. In a device ofthe character descri' the combination with a body and runn cam levers, each lever having an upward carried by one ,of the vehicle members: springs holding ,the levers normally sepa- Je rated and opposed springs carried by the 'other member of the vehicle, having parts bearing on the cam levers between said inclined portions.

3. In a device of thecharacter deseriliiefl the combination with a body and runniz gear of a vehicle, of two pivoted rf-sluipt cam levers with their apices in substantially the same horizontal plane, the inclined por tions extending outwardly, carried by vehicle member; a cylinder containing posed compression coil springs each having a part bearing upon the respective cam levers tending to force them together, said cylinder being slotted near its center part to 825 provide guides for the cam levers and other springs tending to force said .cam levers apart.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing 9U witnesses. y

M'IL'IGN J. HELE/IER.

In the presence of- F oRn BAIN, MARY F. ALLEN. 

